The Week That Was

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, February 17, 2010

These are just a few of my thoughts on what has transpired at the state and national levels in sports during the past week.

Taking a break…

…Both versions of this column will be on a break for the next few weeks as the basketball postseason is upon us.

Look for the columns to resume in mid-March.

Pitchers and catchers report…

…Those are the four words every baseball fan waits for after a long off-season.

Tigers’ players begin reporting today, and there is a great deal of uncertainty as they head into camp.

Detroit is still trying to sign Johnny Damon before position players have to report.

For me, the big questions center around the back end of the rotation, second base and center field.

Although the Tigers made the deal to bring in four players, it did not address the mess that is the end of the rotation. The top three should be fine with Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer.

The final two spots are left for the likes of Jeremy Bonderman, Nate Robinson, Armando Galarraga, Dontrelle Willis and Alfredo Figaro — all trying to solidify those spots.

Truth be told, I’m not sold on most of these guys for a rotation sport, even a bullpen role.

Bonderman has too many injury concerns, as does Willis, while Galarraga and Robinson simply aren’t that effective.

Figaro is an unknown, and that may work in his favor.

The departures of Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco left holes at center and second.

A pair of rookies are expected to compete for the jobs, with Scott Sizemore at second and Austin Jackson in center.

Both are very good prospects, but it’s unknown if they are ready to be every day players.

About the only thing I really feel comfortable with is the bullpen.

The addition of Jose Valverde as the closer, along with left-handers Phil Coke and Daniel Schlereth are good upgrades. Add in Ryan Perry and workhorse lefty Bobby Seay, and the Tigers have a very strong bullpen.

Detroit went from one lefty it could count on last year with Seay to three, which gives them an advantage over most teams. Perry brings great stuff to the mound, and if Joel Zumaya can stay healthy, the team should have things covered late in games.

People have been asking me how I think the Tigers will do this season? The American League Central will be tough, all the teams made improvements, so it will come down to how well the rookies can fit in, and if the back of the rotation can hold up.

They should finish over .500, with a chance of making the playoffs. If I had to predict a win total, it would be 80-85.

Tiger to talk…

…Apparently, it takes around three months to structure a public statement.

Tiger Woods will finally emerge from hiding on Friday, when he addresses selected media members for a statement.

It will not be a press conference as Woods is not expected to take any questions.

Why waste our time?

Tiger could have just issued a statement via his website instead of insulting his fans and the media.

Selected media?

That means Tiger is assembling a bunch of cronies who won’t ask him the tough questions.

At least guys like Mark McGwire and Alex Rodriguez took, and continue to take, questions about their performance enhancing drug use.

Tiger has, and always will be, different. He thought this thing would just blow over if he stayed in hiding long enough. That doesn’t happen when the world’s No. 1 golfer and alleged “family man” cheats on his wife with upwards of a dozen women.

In the meantime, he left the golf world struggling to find its identity without him.

Like everyone else, I will tune in for the circus, but it’s likely Friday’s event will create more questions than answers.

Go around…

…That’s what NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said during one of the delays during Sunday’s Daytona 500 of a pothole that stopped the race twice.

See ADAMS • PAGE 3B Dale Jr. joked that they should just put up some cones, and the drives should go around it.

The delays totaled over two hours, and made the sport look pretty foolish.

NASCAR has been losing viewers and fans for the past couple of years, and has changed some to the rules in order to win them back.

Prior to the pothole, it was happening. No driver was dominating the race, and the outcome was going to be in doubt until the final lap.

Then, the track came apart, and people lost interest.

The first delay lasted 1 hours, 40 minutes Finally, the race was back on, but it only ran 36 laps before the hole reappeared, delaying the race 44 more minutes.

Following the second delay, I wonder how many viewers actually stuck around?

For those who left, they missed a great finish, but who could blame them for not coming back?

It’s too bad, because Jamie McMurray did a wonderful job of holding off Dale Jr. to win the race. Jr. proved he still has something left, moving up from 10th to second in less than a lap.

This year’s Daytona 500 should have drew more fans in, but the inexcusable delays may have pushed more away.

Big Ten plus two?

…It seems the Big Ten would like to become the Big 12, in order to do that, the conference may actually take the actual Big 12’s top school — Texas.

Officials from Big Ten and Texas have had at least some discussion about the Longhorns joining the conference.

Yeah, because nothing says Big Ten like the state of Texas.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the state of Texas, and the University of Texas. I have many relatives that live near the Austin area. Nationally, it’s one of my favorite schools.

I can see the Big Ten working, it wants to expand into a new market, and Texas is a pretty big one.

However, the logistics of such a move make no sense.

Texas is 1,000 miles away from any current Big Ten school. It would actually be more of a burden on the Longhorns than the other schools in the conference.

When it comes down to it, I don’t see this happening, but the fact that there has been dialog means it’s a possibility.

Paul P. Adams is a sports writer for the Huron Daily Tribune and can be reached at (989) 269-6464 ext. 112 or at padams@hearstnp.com